Dispensing cans



Aug. 26, 1958 w. c. WEISGERBER DISPENSING CANS Filed Dec. 16, 1955 wZZz'd/m/ 6.

United States Patent 9 This inventionrelatesfltojdispensing cans and particularly to cans of the kind utilized in packaging powdered cleansers such as those used in homes.

Containers for powdered cleansers are usually made with metal top' and bottom ends andwith a side wall made from a materialfsuch as cardboard. These cans have the upper end thereofconventionally formed with from six to eight half-punched openings, and in order to prepare the can for its usual dispensing operation, the user must complete the punching of these halfpunched openings in the top wall thereof. This punchingt operationhas been found to be quite troublesome since the usualto'ols' that are available in a kitchen are not suitable for. performing the punching. operation, and ma result it has been found thatmany accidents occur in performing this operation, and in addition, the'holesare many times" formedin an' irregular manner in such punching operation so that'th'e dispensing of the cleanser is' not uniform;

Inview of the foregoing it is the primary object of the present inventionto afio'r'd a canfor'cleansirig powtiers and the like'whereinthedispensing openings maybe readily andeasily opened in a safe manner and with tools that are readily available in akitc'hen.

Further and related objects of the invention" are to accomplish the foregoing with the minimum of cost and to provide a structure wherein one opening oper'ation'that may be quickly and easily performed will serve to fully open all of a plurality of holes that are pro-' vided in theupper wallbf the can;

Other and further objects 'of the present invention will what I now consider w se the best mode in which" 1':

havecontemplatedapplyingthese principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equiv alent principles may be usedand structural changes may be made as'desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the-invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is-avertical sectional .view' takeri through 'a'dispensingtcanvembodying the featurestofithe invention;

Fig. 2 is. a top plan of the can shown in Fig. 1, the view being taken from the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4'is a vertical sectional view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the can shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a further alternative embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the can shown in Fig. 7.

For purposes of disclosure, the invention is herein illustrated in Figs. 1-3 as embodied in a can 10 having ice a cylindrical side wall 11 that may be made of cardi board or the like with a bottom wall' 12 and a top' wall 13 made from metal and secured by fianging in the usual manner on the opposite ends of the cylindrical sidewall 11. As shown particularly with respect to the top Wall 13, the wall is depressed inwardly or downwardly with respect to the end of the wall 11 upon which it is mount ed, and this provides an annular chime 14.

Under the present invention, the top wall 13, which constitutes the dispensing wall of the can, has a plurality of circular openings 15 formed therein, there being eight such openings in the present instance, and under the present invention, all of the openings 15 are fully closed by a single closure member 16 that is removably held in place over all of the openings 15 and which" is adapted to be readily removed so as to disclose all of the openings 15. Thus the member 16 is provided in the form of a thin generally circular metal plate that is adapted to fit down inside of the chime 14 and against the outer surface of the wall 13, and means are provided for anchoring the closure plate 16 in position so as to completely close all of the openings 15. In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-3 of the drawing this means is afforded by a plurality of fingers or tabs 18 that are struck downwardly from the metal of the closure plate 16, leaving openings 18A'in the closure' plate. In the present instance four such tabs 18 are provided in a symmetrical position so that they may extend downwardly through correspondingly positioned" ones of the openings 15 in engagement'with one side edge 15' ofsuch opening, as shown in Fig. 3. In the present instance the edge 15E is the inner edge of the opening 15 so that the opening 15 is fully closed, and

13 on the side wall 11 of the can, and the assembly of the can 10 as well as the fillingoperations in respect thereto may be performed in the usual manner and through the use of the usual machinery.

The closure plate 16 under the present invention may be removed in a single easily performed operation that may be accomplished with a knife or a similar instrument that is" available in an ordinary kitchen. Thus the closure plate 16'has one edge'portion' thereof formed with a bent up engaging portionzil that is disposed at its highest point at or below the level of the end of the chime 14, and this bent up portion 20 has its edge 29E formed so as to be spaced radially inwardly'from'the ad jacent portion of the chime 14. This afiords a clearance or entry space 21, into which a knife or the like may be inserted, and then the outer end of the knife may be moved downwardly with a prying action against'the projecting'edge of the chime 14 to'urge' the'adjacent edge of the coverplate 16 upwardly. Keeping'irirnindthat the cover plate 16 is of relatively thin material such as a tin plate sheet, this prying operation serves to bend or straighten the tabs 18 and withdraw the same progressively from the openings 15 with which they have been engaged, and thus the closure plate 16 is readily removed by a simple operation so as to fully disclose all of the dispensing openings 15.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 an alternative form of the invention has been disclosed as embodied in a can 10 of the same form and structure as the can 10 shown in Figs. 1-3, and the parts thereof are correspondingly numbered.

This assembly operation; -Of course, is performed prior to the assembly of the end In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4-6, however, the manner of securing the closure means to the can cover is somewhat different. Thus, as shown in Figs. 4-6, a closure plate 116 is provided that is made from a thin sheet of metal and which will fit down into the chime 14 and against the outer wall or the top wall of the can. This closure plate 116, however, has embossures 118 formed therein at positions corresponding to a plurality of holes 15, and these embossures are inserted through the corresponding openings 15 and are then compressed in an axial direction so as to be slightly enlarged as at 118E, Fig. 6. This serves to interlock the embossures beneath the lower surface of the can top 13 as will be evident in Fig. 6 of the drawing. All of the openings 15 in the can top are thus full covered, and the closure plate 116 may, nevertheless, be readily and easily removed through the provision of an upwardly bent engaging member 120 that corresponds in form and function with the member 20 hereinabove described.

In Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawing another embodiment of the invention is illustrated as applied to a can 10 that is of the same form and construction as the can 10 hereinabove described. In this embodiment of the invention, however, the openings are covered by a closure plate 216 that is made from metal of the general kind used for the plates 16 and 116, and this closure plate 216 is made in a somewhat concave form as will be evident in Fig. 7, and has a diameter which is slightly larger than the internal diameter of the chime 14. The plate 216 is imperforate, and is put in position so as to fully close all of the openings 15 by pressing the plate downwardly into the chime 14 and against the wall 13, the pressure being applied primarily at the edges of the closure plate 16 so as to frictionally interlock the edge with the chime 14. This pressing operation is, however, of such a character as to leave the edge of the closure plate 216 spaced somewhat from the wall 13 as Will be evident in Fig. 7 while at the same time forcing the central portions of the plate downwardly against the top wall 13 in the area in which the openings 15 are located. This relationship is important in enabling the closure plate 216 to be readily removed. In providing for this removal the opposite edges of the closure plate 216 are notched as at 220 so that an implement such as a knife may be inserted downwardly into the clearance space 221, Fig. 8. The outer end of the knife or the like may then be forced downwardly with a prying action against the upper edge of the chime 14, thus to disengage the adjacent portions of the edges of the plate 216 from the chime 14. This prying action may be continued so as to release the closure plate 216 from the can, and this discloses all of the dispensing openings 15.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention enables the dispensing openings of cleanser cans and the like to be readily opened, and yet these openings are fully closed during the packing and shipping operation. The opening of the can that is provided by the present invention may be accomplished with simple tools and in a manner that is familiar to the average housewife, thus to simplify the task and minimize the danger of injury. The closure of the present invention is simple and economical in character and is adapted to be used on cans that are to be assembled and filled with the usual machinery.

Thus while I have illustrated and described the invention in preferred embodiments, it will be recognized that changes and variations may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing top for cleanser cans and the like, a top cover comprising a main wall having a chime wall at its edge and having a plurality of dispensing openings in said main wall spaced inwardly from said chime wall, a closure plate fitted into the space within said chime wall and against said main wall to close all of said openings, means on said closure plate engaging a plurality of points on one of said walls of said cover to mechanically interlock with said cover to hold said closure plate in position, and an engaging portion on said closure plate adjacent an edge thereof and spaced from said chime wall for application of prying lifting forces reacted against said chime wall to displace and remove said closure plate.

2. In a dispensing top for cleanser cans and the like, a top cover comprising a wall having an extending annular chime and having a plurality of dispensing openings in said wall spaced inwardly from said chime, a closure plate fitted into the space within said chime and against said wall to close all of said openings, metal members formed from said closure plate and extending through a plurality of said openings and interlocked beneath the lower face of said cover to hold said closure plate in position, and an engaging portion struck upwardly from said closure plate adjacent an edge thereof and spaced from said wall for application of prying forces to lift and release said closure plate for removal thereof.

3. In a dispensing top for a cleanser can and the like, a top cover having a chimed circular wall and a plurality of dispensing openings in the wall, a closure plate disposed against said wall within the chime thereof to close said openings, a plurality of fastening lugs struck from said plate at points out of registry with respect to said openings and extended through certain of said openings and interlocked with said wall to hold said plate in position, and a force receiving portion on said closure plate adjacent one edge thereof for engagement by a prying tool to separate said closure plate from said top cover.

4. In a dispensing top for cleanser cans and the like, a top cover comprising a Wall having an extending annular chime and having a plurality of dispensing openings in said wall spaced inwardly from said chime, a closure plate fitted into the space within said chime and against said wall to close all of said openings, embossures on said closure plate extending a plurality of said openings and enlarged at their closed ends beneath said cover to hold said closure plate in position, and an engaging portion on said closure plate adjacent an edge thereof and spaced from said wall for engagement by a knife or the like for prying application of said closure plate off of said cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

